Evil Darkstalkers
by djk1982
Summary: Ash (from the Evil Dead movies) finds himself thrust into the world of the Darkstalkers. Blood spatters and limbs fly as Ash and the Darkstalkers try to stop the vampires from tapping the power of the Necronomicon! R&R pleeez
1. Default Chapter

Hello out there, true believers! This is not my first fic on ff.net, but it is my first Darkstalkers fic, and also my first crossover effort. Before you read, I have to say that all disclaimers apply to this fic. I don't own Darkstalkers or Evil Dead, they belong to their respective companies, such as Capcom and New Line Cinema. Now that the professional stuff is over, let me say that I am putting a lot of creative effort into this fic, and I hope you all enjoy it. Read on!  
  
Dawn. A time of awakening. The sunlight slowly bathes the earth, chasing away the shadows of night, and all the creatures that thrive on the dark retreat into their corners to roost till the next dusk. The sun's rays fell down onto the small town of Deerwood, bringing warmth, comfort, and hope to all. Save one.  
Ashley Williams, Ash as he preferred to be called by his friends, stood before his mirror, buttoning up his shirt. He had become rather adept at it, considering he had to do it with one hand. His other hand was gone, cut off clean at the wrist, and had since been replaced by a smooth metal cover for the stump at the end of his arm. He was a dark haired, average looking man. His face would be considered handsome, except for the numerous scars and blemishes that decorated it. He was able to ignore those too.  
Once he was done dressing, he made a lengthily inspection of his home. He started in his bedroom, checking under his bed. Against the opposite wall was a bookshelf, containing mostly books about ancient mythology, and some how to guides to hand-to-hand combat. On one of the shelves there was a metal gauntlet, straight out of medieval times. He looked in his closet, ignoring the strange looking chainsaw that leaned against the wall inside. He inspected every room, checking behind and under all the furniture, and in each of the cupboards. He checked each window and door to be sure they were locked. He then set about the part of his daily inspections that he hated the worst.  
He went into the basement. He hurried down the stairs and flicked on the light, like a child afraid monsters were waiting in the dark. He power walked across the room to the massive safe that dominated a whole corner of the basement. He opened it quickly, made sure its contents were still intact, and then closed it again, slamming the door and locking it.  
With this done, he set about preparing for work. He returned to his bedroom, grabbing his S-Mart vest and his sawed off shotgun that leaned against the wall next to his bed, where he had left it the previous night. He slid his vest on and departed for work, making sure the front and back doors were tightly locked. He had five locks on each of the doors. As he drove to work, he could not help but consider the state of his life. Things had settled into a rather pleasant sort of routine, considering the bizarre events of the past. Most of the people of his town considered him something of an oddball. They all laughed at his stories of traveling through time and battling demons and zombies (deadites as he called them). But they could laugh all they wanted, he knew the truth.  
And he knew what was in that safe in his basement. In its native tongue, it was called the Necronomicon Ex Mortis, roughly translated, The Book of the Dead. Ash had past experiences with this item that he preferred forget, and the fact that it was in his house was the source of what many of the townsfolk saw as paranoia. It was the reason he slept with his shotgun nearby, why he kept a crucifix in every room, why he had five locks on his front and back doors and on every window, why he did these inspections every day upon waking and before going to bed. After it had come into his possession, he had tried to destroy it, only to find that he could not. Fire would not burn it, the pages would not tear. And so, he kept it where he knew it was safe.  
The book was not the only item that Ash kept in that safe. Alongside it was a ceremonial dagger that he had found along with the book. It was a hideous thing, the blade was notched and crooked. There was a strange sort of writing on it, Ash believed they were called runes. The hilt was made in the shape of a skeleton. On the blade there was still flecks of dried blood from its previous exploits. Ash did not bother to wash it off.  
On a shelf below those items were things of more recent date. There was a folder and a notepad, filled with the notations of the late Professor Knowby and his daughter Annie. The pages contained all of their extensive research on the Necronomicon. Next to the documents there was a tape recorder, which contained the only recorder translation of the book. All of this was knowledge Ash knew to be too dangerous to risk falling into anyone else's hands.  
Ash pulled into the parking lot of the S-Mart, parking in his favorite space. He smirked to himself. Having only one hand was not entirely a disadvantage. He got to use the handicapped parking spaces, and he received handicap benefits, including a higher salary. Ash threw a blanket onto the backseat, covering his shotgun, and headed inside.  
  
A world away...  
  
"You are certain of its authenticity?" the deep, cultured voice of Dimitri Maximoff droned. He examined the paper in his hand, not entirely sure what to believe. If it was true, then he could not afford to miss the opportunity. If not, then someone would suffer dearly.  
"We are certain, my lord" came the response. One of Dimitri's many servants currently groveled before his master, his eyes never rising to meet the face of Dimitri, for those who served him came to consider him as too magnificent to look upon. Others would not look at him for fear of being cursed. "It is a genuine page from the Necronomicon, the true Book of the Dead. And with it, power beyond mortal imaginings."  
"But not beyond mine" Maximoff mused aloud. He scratched his chin and considered. "And what of the rest of the book?"  
"We are uncertain of its location, but using that page we believe we can locate the whole text. It can be yours, my lord. All you have to do is give the order." Maximoff remained silent in thought for several moments. He had heard the stories of the Necronomicon, of its raising whole legions of the walking dead to feast upon the souls of the living, of its opening gateways that lead through time, event through whole dimensions. And that was but the merest extent of its potential. In the right hands, who knew?  
"Very well" Maximoff gruffly stated. "Begin your quest immediately. Bring me the book, or be prepared to have your own head brought to me in exchange." Maximoff remained seated in his throne for several minutes after his servant left. He eventually rose and strode across the great throne chamber to one of the massive windows that overlooked the village below.  
"Getting ambitious, are we Demitri?" came a seductive voice from all around. It did not phase Maximoff. He kept his back turned to Morrigan Aensland as she gracefully stepped out from the shadows. "You know the myths of the Necronomicon. The keepers of the Demon World refused to touch the thing. Why should you wish to begin playing with it?"  
"My reasons are my own, Morrigan." He said over his shoulder. Morrigan came up behind him and laced her dainty arms around his massive shoulders.  
"And should you perhaps find something within its pages that displeases you?" she purred in one of his pointy ears.  
"Then this whole world shall shudder under my wrath," he growled. He spun around, gripping her delicate shoulders with his large hands. He drew her near, his heavy breaths blowing some of her silky green hair away from her face.  
"And what is there in it for me if you find what you seek?" she whispered playfully. Maximoff frowned.  
"Consideration of a place in the greater world I shall create from the ashes of the Demon World" he huffed. He pushed her away. Morrigan chuckled at him. Her chuckles grew to all out laughter as Maximoff stalked from the room. Her laughter was arrogant and mocking. She flicked some of her hair back from her shoulder, and then her entire body melted into a swarm of glowing bats. The swarm danced in the air and fluttered out the window, vanishing into the night.  
There was a third figure now, perched on the roof of Maximoff's castle. She was similar to Morrigan, although considerably smaller in almost every physical measure. Her legs dangled over the edge of the room, kicking back and forth in the air. She titled her head to the side and smiled mischievously as she watched Morrigan's departure.  
"Ooh look, kiddies with candy" Lilith Aensland giggled as she stood up, spreading the wings that sprouted off from her back. She leapt into the night air and took flight. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Excuse me sir, but could you help me?"  
Ash looked up. He had seen some pretty unbelievable things in his life. But the one that was seemed to put them all to shame. The woman was absolutely gorgeous! And not the average kind of pretty that you see on a regular basis on the street, but drop dead, just stand there and breath, thank Heaven for putting her on earth beautiful. Ash could not help but gawk for a moment at her.  
She was tall, at least six feet. Her long hair, dyed green, a strange choice in his opinion, tumbled over her shoulders. Her deep eyes held the sort of seductive promise that wet dreams were made of. She had long arms and legs, and the most fantastically curvaceous body that Ash had ever seen. She obviously was used to the type of reaction she was getting from him, for she offered an amused smirk.  
"Uh...yeah, sure. What can I do for you?" he stuttered, trying his best to force himself to gaze into her eyes, and not down the front of her loose fitting shirt.  
"I'm looking for a book," she said in a voice that sent a chill up Ash's spine.  
"Um, books should be in aisle twelve, toward the back of the store. Shop smart, shop S-Mart!" he said, flashing her his best charming grin.  
"Oh, I don't think I'll find what I'm looking for there..." she took a step closer, placing her hands on her hips as if she were deliberately trying to make him drool over her sexy form. Ash took a reflexive look around, making sure there were no managers nearby; it was against regulations to talk with, especially flirt with customers. "I'm looking for a particular book..."  
"Well, maybe I can help you look for it." Ash offered, lowering his voice a notch, trying to sound masculine and impressive.  
"Oh, I know you can" she leaned in closer and whispered "And I can make it worth your while..."  
Ash suddenly began to feel uncomfortable in this woman's presence. Something about her suddenly seemed foreboding and sinister. Her eyes narrowed in a way that was seductive, but at the same time made Ash more than a little tense. She stepped even closer to him, ran a slender finger down the front of his chest. "I'm looking for the Necronomicon."  
"How do you know about that thing?" Ash gasped, stumbling backward, his back bumping against the shelf behind him. She stepped even closer, trapping him.  
"Oh, I know many things mister..." she stole a glance at his name badge, "Ashley Williams. Fitting that the Book of the Dead should fall into the hands of such a strong, handsome man..." she leaned in close, pressing her torso against his. Ash quickly scrambled to the side, getting away from her.  
"Get out of here lady, you don't want to know about that thing." He warned, trying his best to sound imposing.  
"Oh, but I do. And I want to know about you. Won't you let me?" she winked, implying limitless possibilities. But now the things she was offering were far from Ash's mind.  
"Just get out of here...don't make me call security."  
She laughed briefly, as if the idea of security guards rushing down the aisle didn't matter to her. Then she smirked at Ash.  
"Consider what I'm offering you, Ashley. It will be a lot more pleasant than what some others would give you in return for the book. Think it over." She blew a kiss at him as she walked away, her hips swaying softly from side to side as she went.  
Ash collapsed back against the display shelf, struggling for breath.  
  
There was someone in his house!  
Ash sat up in bed, his eyes quickly flicking from one darkened corner of the room to the other. He strained his ears, listening to the silence, struggling to pick up something.  
He had heard a thud, that much he was sure of. He began to slowly reach one trembling hand out for the switch to his bedside lamp. As his fingers brushed against the plastic of the button, he heard a faint creek. Soft, squeaky, almost inaudible, but definitely there. Ash's hand paused, waiting for several seconds, and then began to switch directions, moving down, reaching for the shotgun that leaned against the wall next to the bed...  
With a horrendous cry it leapt out of the dark. It flew through the air on large, bat-like wings, soaring toward Ash. Ash took aim as quickly as he could and loosed off a single shot. It stopped the creature in mid- air, knocking it to the floor. Ash scrambled from his bed as the creature rose back to its feet. It pointed one clawed finger at him, cackled like a Hollywood witch, and charged across the room, ramming itself full force into the next shot Ash fired. The buckshot tore into the creatures face, splitting its head in a fountain of blood, flesh, and bone. It twitched on the floor for a moment as the blood drained from it. The gore that had splashed everywhere did not bother Ash, experience having taught him to ignore it.  
"The book!" he thought aloud. He hurried to the closet, tore the door open, and reached in. He pulled the chainsaw from its perch against the wall and scrambled to put it into its proper place, at the end of his arm, over where his other hand had once been. It putted and then roared to life.  
Ash ran down the hallway, leapt down the staircase, landing in the front hall downstairs. The moment his feet landed, he was thrown to the ground by an unseen force. His attacker leapt down onto him in a writhing mass of limbs as they struggled to overpower each other. Ash grunted and drove his knee hard into its abdomen, but it kept coming, tearing at his flesh. Ash shouted and slammed the butt of his shotgun into its face, driving it back for a moment. As it leapt to its feet, ready to press the attack again, Ash fired his shotgun, emptying both barrels. As the creature stumbled back, thrown by the impact of the shots, Ash jumped to his feet, charged forward, slamming himself into it, throwing it back against the wall. It slammed hard against the wood, its skull cracking with the impact, and then slid down into a sitting position, leaving a long trail of red on the wallpaper.  
He hurried down the basement stairs, throwing the light-switch on, and ran across the room to the safe. He moaned with despair when he saw its door, wide open, it's inside completely bare. He went down on his knee before the safe, trying to see if even a single paper had been left behind.  
  
"What a nice book. Lord Demitri will be most pleased." a crackly voice croaked from behind him. Ash spun around. Standing at the staircase was another of these monsters. A pair of large bat wings jutted from its back. Its beady red eyes gazed at Ash from its rat-like face. In one hand it held the Necronomicon, under its other arm it held the recorder and the file of papers. The dagger was tucked under its filthy trousers.  
"What the hell are you?" Ash said as he stood up cautiously.  
"The last thing you'll ever see!" it screeched as it charged him. Ash swung his chainsaw-arm hard, slashing the hand that held the book clean from the wrist. The creature screamed, so focused on the pain of its severed hand that it dropped the other materials. Ash stabbed it through its chest with the chainsaw, its screeches rising over the sound of its bones being torn to pieces. Blood flew in all directions, thoroughly painting the walls with its red sparkle.  
Ash gathered up the book, the dagger, recorder, and the documents, and hurried upstairs. He changed from his pajamas to his day-clothes as quickly as he could manage. He had to get out of Deerwood.  
He gathered up the cursed items, tossing them all into a backpack. He slung it over his shoulder and dashed down the stairs and out the door. As he fumbled in his pocket for the keys to the car, he caught the sound of laughter. It was the soft, sweet sound of a little girl giggling. Ash looked around for a moment, trying to find the source of the sound.  
He slowly looked up, and saw the silhouette of the child sitting in the tree. Her legs swung casually off the branch. She observed him with a bizarre sort of amusement.  
"Hey kid you better get out of here. There's lots of strange stuff going..." his words died as the child jumped from the tree and landed, agile as a cat, on the lawn in front of him.  
She was the most bizarre looking child Ash had ever seen. A pair of large bat wings sprouted from her back, and a smaller pair grew from the top of her head. Her red eyes gazed at him curiously. In a strange way, she reminded him of the woman he had encountered earlier.  
"I'll be taking those items, if you don't mind." She said, holding out her hand, open palmed.  
"No way" Ash said, quickly drawing his shotgun from its hostel on his back. "No way in hell are you getting that book. You'll have to kill me first."  
"As you wish" she said. It was all Ash could do to dodge the twin fireballs, shaped like bats, that flew from her hands. They slammed into his car, which instantly exploded, flying into the air and landing in the street with a deafening crash. Ash looked sadly at the remains of his classic.  
"Nobody...nobody touches my car!" he shouted. He spun, taking aim, but she moved at a speed he had thought impossible, up in front of him in an instant, punching in the face with a strength he would never has suspected. It threw him out into the street, landing on the pavement.  
"Now then, do we have to keep playing?" She asked as she took flight, hovering up above him. Before Ash could give her any response, something knocked her out of the air, crashing her to the ground.  
"Thank you Lillith. I think that will be all from you now." The familiar voice purred. Ash felt the straps of his backpack, torn from his body. He looked up to see the woman he had met at S-Mart, but different now. She was dressed similar to the girl, except her revealing costume was black and purple instead of red and blue. She also had large wings coming from her back and head. She held the backpack up with a triumphant smile. "Thank you for this lovely gift, human. I am sure I can find many uses for it." She held up a piece of paper that Ash recognized quickly as being from the book. She read the passages inscribed upon it, a language few would recognize. As she read, the wind picked up, lighting cracked, the earth trembled, and finally a hole tore open in the fabric of reality itself. It crackled with energy, its force like a tornado, picking up anything in sight. The door from Ash's home, the remnants of his car, and the fire hydrant on the curb were all torn from their place and sucked into the vortex. She flew off into the portal, to only God knows where.  
"Morrigan, you get back here!" Lillith shouted before taking off into the vortex after her sister.  
Ash remained, struggling to cling to the ground beneath him. He crawled desperately up onto his front yard and wrapped his arms around the tree that grew up in front of his house. He held on as tight as his strong arms could, screaming as he felt his legs lift up off the ground, felt the vortex sucking him in. And then he felt the tree itself, starting to move. Ash closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and uttered a silent prayer as the tree was pulled from the ground, straight up from the roots, and flew into the vortex, carrying Ash along with it. 


	3. Chapter 3

Morrigan Aensland laughed, overjoyed with herself as she landed on the roof of a chapel. She dumped out the contents of the backpack she had stolen, and eagerly sorted through them. She eyed the tape recorder curiously, but then set it aside. She examined the strange looking dagger, but dropped it in favor of the item that demanded her full attention; the Necronomicon itself!  
She flipped through its pages with a keen interest. It was a hideous little treasure, bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. Some of the demonic images within resembled some of the sights she had encountered within the Demon World, some other ones seemed even more horrific. She frowned as she realized she could not read much of it herself; it was a language long forgotten by all but the most scholarly. She would need to find someone within her demonic court that could translate it for her. The pages were very crisp, feeling almost brand new, impressive considering the item was centuries old. The ancient writing on the pages seemed to radiate a feeling of dark power. She could easily see why Demitri Maximoff was so interested in this.  
She then skimmed through some of the papers in the folder. They were scientific notes mostly, with the occasional photograph thrown in. They seemed to be written by someone who was very familiar with the book. One paragraph in particular caught her attention:  
"I have finished translating the first of the passages from the Necronomicon. They appear to be some sort of pagan chant, with great references to 'dark ones.' I shall be recording these translations for posterity."  
Morrigan looked at the tape recorder with new interest. She smiled as she reached her hand out.  
"Now, lets see what this power of old is all about" she said to herself. She punched the play button.  
  
"Hm, that's odd" Hsien-Ko commented.  
"What, sister?" Mei-Ling asked.  
"The sky" Hsien-ko said, pointing toward the horizon. "It sure didn't look that nasty a few minutes ago." Mei-Ling turned her eyes skyward, following the direction her sister was pointing in.  
"You're right," she said, narrowing her eyes. "It looks like a storm is brewing..."  
"Sis, look out!" Hsien-Ko screamed. Mei-Ling looked up just in time to see the shadow that was wandering into their headlights. She slammed her foot hard onto the brake peddle, bringing them to a screeching halt. "Hey creep, watch where you're walking!" Hsien-Ko shouted, standing up from her seat next to her sister, waving an arm in the air.  
The shadow froze where it was. Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko both fell silent, observing this person for several moments. Hsien-Ko's eyes wandered up and down the silhouetted form. His clothes were filthy, like he'd been rolling around in the mud for hours. Her eyes fell on his hand, which seemed to be clutching something. "Okay" she shouted, slowly tensing the muscles of her legs, ready to fight if need be, "Whatever you've got, drop it right now!"  
The decapitated corpse of a rat was tossed into the headlights. Both women gasped. He, no, IT stepped into the light. It was no person, at least it wasn't now, that was obvious. It's eyes were milky white, its skin a sickly gray. It grinned at them with rotted teeth, and instantly launched itself at them.  
Hsien-Ko batted it way with one of her massive, clawed arms. It was launched several feet into the air, landed hard on its head, its neck cracking. But then, much to their shock, it simply stood back up. Its head lolled to the side, the broken bones bursting through the rotted flesh.  
"Swallow your souls," it croaked in an otherworldly voice, "I'll swallow your souls!"  
  
Ash coughed, spitting dirt and pebbles from his mouth. He rolled over onto his back and groaned as he opened his eyes. He gazed up at the night sky, and was struck by the thick clouds that blocked the stars from view. He sat up, wondering where he was. He looked around. There, nearby, was the burnt wreck of his car. Not far from that was the an uprooted tree, dirt still clinging to its roots.  
Events flooded back to him, and he leapt this feet. He looked around, ready for anything. But there was nothing.  
"God...where am I this time?" he thought aloud. As the answer was coming by some divine intervention, there was a loud rumble of thunder in the distance. Ash's eyes looked upward, and he saw the sudden movement of the clouds, the flashes of lightning, and began to realize what was happening. "Oh God...not again..."  
  
"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages, you are all invited to attend the greatest show on earth!" the high-pitched voice mewed out to the world. The tall, female figure standing on the end of the train threw flyers out into the sky, watching them tumble through the air. On each flyer was a printed picture of her, posing dramatically in the center of a spotlight, and the words "Pretty Cat Review!" flashed out at the public. She purred with joy as she grabbed another handful of flyers and prepared to toss them into the sky.  
But she hesitated. Her large, pointed, fuzzy ears flatted down in a gesture of discomfort when she saw the hostile looking clouds in the sky. There were flashes of lightning, and a soft rumbling was growing in the distance. But then another sound caught her attention: screams.  
  
"It looks like a storm..." the little girl commented. She clutched her headless doll closer to her tiny chest. Her towering companion looked upward, and found that he agreed with her. The sky suddenly looked fierce.  
  
"It is no storm..." he commented. There was something on the wind that he could detect, his senses ranging far differently from that of a regular human. The massive sword that hung on his back gave off small vibrations that let him know something was not right. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his environment, feeling out with his senses to detect what was wrong.  
"Donovan..." the girl said, tugging lightly at the hem of his robes. He opened his eyes and looked down, falling upon the same sight that transfixed her; a hand was reaching up out of the ground.  
  
A pair of long antennae twitched. The creature that these appendages belonged ceased in her snacking and looked up. The antennae continued to flick as they continued to pick up the strangest vibrations. She licked her lips, smacking away the blood and flesh.  
She dropped the corpse she was feasting on and looked around her nest. There did not seem to be anything amiss here. No, these signals were coming from somewhere else. And there was a scent on the air that struck her especially; she smelled power. Power unlimited, that could be hers for the taking.  
She spread her large, insect wings, and took to the air.  
  
The screams below meant little to Demitri, it was a sound he was most accustomed to, even enjoyed at times. But these were not the type of screams he derived his pleasure from; not the screams of suffering and agony, but of absolute terror. It interested him.  
He gazed from the balcony of his castle down on the world that sprawled below it. He felt the power that was stirring, as only those of the dark like he could. It was a very potent; someone was toying with great powers that they did not understand or could not control. And he preferred for no one to have such power other than himself.  
"M'lord" one of his servants groveled from behind, "The mission was a failure! Morrigan Aensland made off with the Necronomicon! She may be using it as we speak!"  
Dimitri smirked, his large fangs protruding over his lips. He chuckled softly to himself. The plot had just thickened. This might prove very entertaining. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Where are all these things coming from?" Hsien-Ko shouted as she smacked another of the creatures away. What had originally been just one had become over a dozen; they seemed to swarm out of the darkness.  
"Better question: what are they?" Mei-Ling responded as she slashed another with her sword. These creatures were a total mystery to the two of them. And much to their shock, each time they knocked one down, it just got back up. There seemed no way to stop them.  
"Sis, stand back!" Hsien-Ko shouted. Mei-Ling leapt away as Hsien-Ko produced her massive gong. She struck it full force, and the shockwave torn into the monsters like a tidal wave. They all leashed ear-shattering screams and collapsed to the ground. "Got em!" Hsien-Ko shouted, raising her arm in the air in victory.  
"Don't be so sure..." Mei-Ling warned. As if summoned by her words, one of the creatures jumped back to its feet and launched itself at the both of them. Hsien-Ko knocked it away with ease. Mei-Ling meantime became aware of a tugging, and looked down at her feet. She screamed when she saw the creature, slashed in half at the waist, grabbing at her ankles.  
  
"Join us," it moaned as he tried to get a hold of her, "Join us!"  
"Get away from my sister!" Hsien-Ko shouted, kicking it square in the jaw. No sooner was this done, than a pair of rotting arms coiled around her and tried to drag her to the ground. Another creature pounced onto Mei- Ling. They swarmed all at once, covering the struggling sisters in a mass of decaying flesh.  
Someone whistled.  
The creatures paused in their frenzy and turned their heads. Standing ten feet away was a man. He was a strange looking fellow, even to the Darkstalker hunting sisters. The most unusual feature was his lack of one hand; in its place was a chainsaw, attached at his wrist.  
"Hey," he shouted, giving a slight jerk of his head. "Lets go!"  
Four of the creatures released their grip in Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko, and charged at this stranger. He whipped a shotgun from its holster on his back and fired, tearing the head right off one creature. Its decapitated body ran around blindly, flailing its arms. The other three continued their attack. He leveled one across the face with a blow from the butt of the gun, another he hit hard in the gut with his foot, and the third cleanly tore apart with three slashes of the roaring chainsaw. Its severed limbs writhed on the ground till the blood drained away, and then rotted into the dirt in seconds. Another creature tried to grab him from behind, but was thrown back when he leveled the shotgun on his shoulder and fired straight into its face. A single slash separated its legs from its torso, and it also rotted in an instant.  
"What are these things?" Hsien-Ko shouted as she struggled against them.  
"Deadites!" the stranger shouted.  
"They're what?" Mei-Ling screamed, thinking it was the most absurd sounding thing she had ever heard.  
"You've got to dismember them!"  
"What?" Hsien-Ko said, blanching at the thought.  
"Tear em' up, chop them to pieces, whatever!" he replied.  
Mei-Ling complied, and with several quick swipes of her sword she had cut a creature's arms and legs clean from its body in a spray of red mist. Hsien-Ko also followed suite, striking with a savage ferocity, tearing the creature's limb from limb. A few moments later, the fight was over, save for the smell of rotting flesh.  
"Well...any fight you can walk away from I guess..." the stranger said between heavy breaths. A blue hand clapped over his wrist, it's remarkable strength keeping him from raising his chainsaw blade. A second hand wrapped its fingers around his throat and lifted him off the ground.  
"Who are you? What do you know about those things?" Hsien-Ko demanded.  
"Can't breath...choking..." he sputtered. She dropped him, and he scrambled back, raising up both his weapons, ready for more if he had to. "Is that how you show thank around here? And oh by the way, you're welcome." He sneered at the last part.  
"He did aid us, sister." Mei-Ling said, placing a hand on Hsien-Ko's shoulder, signaling her to stand down. She turned to the stranger and addressed him calmly. "Whoever you are, we aren't your enemies," she explained slowly. "Now, who are you? And how did you know how to defeat those things?"  
"Name's Ash" he said, holstering his shotgun. "And I've had some experience with deadites."  
"Who the hell named them that?" Hsien-Ko said, her face contorting with distaste.  
"Well...I did."  
  
Morrigan smiled to herself. She looked at the carnage-taking place below. The zombie-like creatures had appeared out of nowhere, and were wasting no time in making a plague of themselves. If all this had been accomplished by the power of the book, who knew what else it could do?  
"I think you've had you're fun, Morrigan. It's my turn."  
Morrigan chuckled, not even bothering to turn around to face Lillith.  
  
"I think not, Lillith dear" Morrigan said, placing the items back into the backpack. "This is no toy for your amusement. Little children shouldn't play with dangerous things."  
A sharp kick in the spine knocked the wind out of Morrigan. She tumbled along the floor, but quickly regained herself, leaping back to her feet in a combat-ready stance. She narrowed her eyes at Lillith, who had picked up the backpack and was smiling mischievously at her counterpart.  
"Thanks for the goodies, Morrigan." Lillith said, turning to take flight. Morrigan was on her in an instant; grabbing her ankle and yanking her down to the ground. Lillith rose and glowered at Morrigan. "So, it's a showdown you want, huh?"  
"For the last time." Morrigan threw back. They circled for a moment, read for anything.  
"Mind if a third player joins this game?" a high-pitched, buzzing voice said from nearby. They both swung around to see Q. Bee floating down onto the steeple with them. She placed her hands casually on her hips and leaned against the edge of the roof. "Or is this a two player only?"  
  
"So, that's the whole story." Ash finished. He was seated on a large rock now, running his hand through his hair as he spoke. Hsien-Ko was leaning against another rock, her arms crossed over her chest. Mei-Ling paced back and forth as she listened to Ash's story. When he was done, she thought for a moment.  
"This woman who took the book, can you describe her?"  
"She was a really freaky looking chick. She was wearing this skintight outfit, and she had these huge wings coming off her back..."  
"Did she have green hair?" Mei-Ling broke in.  
"Yeah, how did you know?"  
"Sounds like Morrigan Aensland." Hsienk-Ko added.  
"You know her?" Ash said, rising to his feet.  
"Sort of..." Hsien-Ko scoffed.  
"Ash, this book, if it can do all you say it can...do you think it could retrieve a lost soul from the netherworld?"  
"Uh...I don't know...I guess so...I've never thought about. Why?"  
"Our mother's soul is lost. We've been trying for a long time to find it, so we can bring her back." Hsien-Ko answered.  
"If we help you retrieve this book, do you think we could try?"  
"I'm not sure..." Ash said, looking grim. "That thing shouldn't be used at all..."  
"Then if we can find someone who knows how to use it? Someone who can control it?" Mei-Ling's voice grew hopeful.  
"I guess. Yeah, I suppose." Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko threw each other smiles, seeing perhaps a light at the end of the tunnel for them.  
"Very well Ash, we shall help you find the Necronimicon. But if Morrigan is behind this, we may need some help. And I think I know just the people..." 


	5. Chapter 5

Donovan's sword resumed its place at his back, resting till he called it to battle once again. The monk addressed the situation with grave seriousness. These creatures had come from nowhere, and yet everywhere at the same time. Their presence was not right in this world; he could feel it. They had been summoned by something outside of the dark, more than the dark.  
Anita said nothing, but simply stared at the ground, clutching her doll. Donovan had been careful not to let any blood splash onto her, even though he was not sure it would bother her or not.  
Donovan froze. He waited, detecting something on the air. He spun and hurled his sword into the air. It was deflected with a loud bang by the buckshot fired from the shotgun. The stranger stared at the two of them with his dark eyes. Donovan gripped his blade firmly by the hilt and dropped into a battle ready stance. The stranger held up his other hand, revealing that it was no hand, but instead a chainsaw was attached to his wrist. He looked at the massive weapon clutched in Donovan's hand, and then at the blade of his own chainsaw, and his face vaulted.  
Before either of them could do anything, Hsien-Ko threw herself between them.  
"Woa, easy there Donovan! He's a friend." Donovan grew easy at her presence, and once again let his sword rest in place on his back. He bowed to the stranger.  
"My apologies for my harsh reaction. I did not intend to startle you."  
"Yeah...same to you..." Ash said, not entirely sure to make of the towering figure before him. He once again looked at the huge sword that Donovan had held as if it were a feather. He was beginning to see why Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling respected this guy so much.  
"Ash is a...visitor." Mei-Ling said as she stepped up to the group. Donovan arched an eyebrow curiously.  
"A visitor?"  
"Yeah, from out of town." Ash added.  
"He's from another world." Anita said, drawing surprised stares from the four adults around her.  
"Another world?" Donovan asked.  
"Morrigan Aensland stole something very dangerous from him, and he tried to retake it from her. He got caught in a portal that brought him over to our world." Mei-Ling explained.  
"That's what summoned the...what did you call them?" Hsien-Ko turned to Ash.  
"Deadites." Ash took a reflexive step back when they all cast him rather skeptical stares. "Well...its not an official title or anything..." he muttered.  
"So it is Morrigan who is behind these creatures?" Donovan's voice became darker, understanding the seriousness of the situation now.  
"Well, that's the theory, anyway." Hsienk-Ko finished. There was a moment of tense silence between them. Finally, Ash spoke up.  
"Hey, now that we've got your boy here, are we gonna go get the book, or what?"  
"Its not that easy, Ash" Mei-Ling said, addressing him gravely. "Morrigan is a princess of the Demon World. She could be anywhere by now."

"Oh great. Why must there always be a problem?" Ash threw his hand in the air in frustration and started pacing.  
"There is always a way, friend Ash. We simply need to find it." Donovan said in a cool manner. Ash looked at him as if he were insane.  
"Yeah, well you got any suggestions in the meantime, bright eyes?"  
"She's not far from here" Anita said, once again drawing disbelieving stares from the adults.  
"How do you know?" Hsien-Ko demanded.  
"I don't know" Anita replied very matter of factly, "I just feel it."

"Any idea where?" Ash asked eagerly.  
"Such a large expenditure of power should not be hard to track." Donovan said, "But we will need transportation. She will not likely stay in one place for long. And there are bound to be other parties interested in this power."  
"Great, any idea how we do that?" As if some divine power had heard Ash' question, the wind suddenly picked and blew a piece of paper straight into Ash' face. He groaned, and yanked it off. Hsien-Ko took it from him, and smiled as she examined it.  
"Actually, I think I just got an idea." She held the paper up for her companions. It was a promotional flyer. In broad letters it declared "Pretty Cat Revue! Come see Felicia, the hottest sensation to ever hit the stage! Coming soon to a town near you!"  
"Good thinking, sister" Mei-Ling said with a smile.  
"What is it?" Ash asked.  
"Felicia is a friend of ours" Hsien-Ko explained. "She's on tour, concerts all over the place. She travels in a train. And she has really keen detection skills. She should be able to help us find Morrigan."  
"Groovy!" Ash again took a step back when they all threw him questioning stares.  
"You're going nowhere!" a new voice intruded. The whole group turned to see a young girl, dressed in a bright red bonnet and hood standing several feet away. She pointed a pair of Uzi's at them, her bright blue eyes filled with blood-thirst.

The roof of the chapel exploded. It was a massive blast that hurled debris for miles in all directions. The people on the streets below screamed and scrambled for cover as flaming shards of tile and wood were showered into their midst.  
Lillith flew out from the smoke and propelled herself as hard as she could with her wings. But she did not get far before Q. Bee launched herself onto her. They tumbled toward the ground in a mess of scrabbling limbs and growled profanity. They were torn from each other by a blast of energy thrown by Morrigan. The backpack containing the Necronomicon and all the other artifacts tumbled in the air, and Morrigan dove to retrieve it.  
But she was knocked out of the air by Q. Bee who dove in at tremendous speed. She grabbed the pack and attempted to make off much as Lillith had. But she too was quickly overcome by her adversaries, and the three struggled against each other, each attempting to get a hold of the prize. Their grabbing hands tore the pack apart, and its contents fell out. All three of them gasped in shock, and hurriedly dove through the air to retrieved the items. Q. Bee managed to nab the tape recorder before it shattered on the ground. Lillith recovered the dagger, and Morrigan grabbed the folder containing Dr. Knowby's notes. But all three of them could only watch helplessly as the book feel down toward the earth, sure to be destroyed once it hit the ground.  
But this was not to be, as a pair of decaying hands retrieved it. All three of them watched in shock as one of the zombies the book had summoned clutched the book in its rotting hands. It cackled hauntingly and disappeared into the shadows.  
Morrigan's face turned down into an enraged snarl, and she raised her face to her enemies.  
"This is your fault!" she hissed, pointing an accusing finger at both of them.  
"Our fault?" Lillith blasted back.  
"You're the one who wouldn't let the pack go!" Q. Bee added.  
"You should have let it go first!" Morrigan shrieked in return.  
"You're just being greedy!" Lillith responded.  
"The two of you are fools!" Q. Bee said.  
"Shut up!" Morrigan and Lillith both screamed at her.  
"Now, now" a deep, cultured voice broke in. All three of them spun in the air and found themselves staring into the deep eyes of Dimitri Maximoff. "All three of you were in the wrong. The book is mine. And I shall gladly have it out with any of you would who challenge me." 


	6. Chapter 6

"Who's the chick with the guns?" Ash asked rather nonchalantly, considering the situation.  
"The name's Hood. B.B. Hood." She grinned maniacally over the barrel of her Uzis.  
"She's a bounty hunter." Mei-Ling scoffed contemptuously.  
"B.B. Hood?" Ash said, sounding utterly perplexed. "Where the hell did you get a name like that?"  
"And I suppose you think 'deadites' is better?" Hsien-Ko said, placing her hands on her hips as if she had taken offense at Ash's statement for the blonde haired bounty hunter.  
"At least it doesn't sound like it came out of a kid's fairy tale." Ash threw back at her.  
"Hey!" B.B. Hood screamed, firing her Uzis into the air. Ash and the other's all flinched back to reality, and addressed the situation gravely now.  
"What do you want?" Donovan asked, the calm in his voice never faltering.  
"The bunch of you are wanted" she said, her guns not lowering an inch, "And I don't know who you are," she inclined her head towards Ash, "but if you have anything to do with all the craziness going on, I'm sure you're worth something."  
"Hey, let's talk this over first..." Ash said, trying his best to carefully reach up his back for his shotgun. But to eyes as sharp as B. B. Hood's, the slight twitches were obvious.  
"Make a single move, and I'll blow you're brains out." She said simply, and fired a few rounds into the ground at Ash's feet. He jumped, and his hand, which had just managed to grasp the butt of his gun, flew into the air, tearing the weapon from its holster at his back, sending it flying into the air. "Now, all of you, hands in the air. We're going for a walk." She gestured with her guns, emphasizing her orders.  
Anita frowned, and clutched her doll tighter to her chest. Her eyes narrowed and focused on the Uzis clutched in the crazed woman's hands. A mysterious blue aura began to vibrate around the guns, and they were quickly yanked from Hood's hands.  
In a flash, it all happened. Mei-Ling swept down and scooped Anita into her arms, ducking quickly for safety. Donovan and Hsien-Ko leapt into action, diving toward B.B. Hood, but she reached into the basket dangling from her arm, and withdrew a pair of shiny red apples. She bit the stems from them and tossed them into the air, and they exploded in bursts of fire and smoke.  
Ash ducked below the explosions, and crawled along the ground, trying to retrieve his shotgun. He had gone no more than a couple of feet when he found himself face to face with a pair of military style boots. He looked up those boots, and then up the shapely legs that followed, and then up some more, into the twin barrels of the Uzis, retrieved and back in the hands of the blonde woman, whose eyes were now bulging, bloodshot and infuriated. Her chest rose and fell in strained breaths of rage as she slammed an ammunition cartridge into one of the guns, and held it closer to Ash's face.  
"Uh...you're boot laces are undone?" he said, hoping vainly she would fall for it. But she didn't, and her finger began to slowly pressed onto the trigger. "Hey, think of a number between one and five!" Ash said quickly, "Was it two?" and with that he promptly poked two fingers of his remaining hand up into B. B. Hood's eyes. She shrieked and stumbled back, her Uzis firing into the air. She growled curses as her vision cleared, and she was confronted by Ash, on his feet, shotgun in hand.  
He held it up, and pulled the trigger. The buckshot tore into the basket, ripping a large hole into it, and the weapons cleverly disguised amongst the food tumbled out at her feet. She stared down at it, startled, and then started to protest when Ash slammed his fist hard into her face. She fell back, and blacked out.  
Ash blew at the barrel of his gun, the smoke clearing away, and slid it back into its holster. He pointed a finger down at the unconscious bounty hunter. "Never, never mess with a man with a boomstick!" he commanded.  
"Jeez, you've got a stupid name for everything, don't you?" Hsien-Ko said, dripping with sarcasm as she and Donovan walked up to him. Mei-Ling also came, Anita walking alongside her. Mei-Ling looked down at the unconscious bounty hunter, and then smiled warmly at their new companion.  
"All right" she said, "I am impressed." Ash smiled, and winked.

"Well, well, Dimitri Maximoff, come down from on high to mingle with the commoners." Morrigan chuckled to herself.  
"What do you want?" Lilith demanded, pointing a finger accusingly at the towering vampire.  
"Morrigan" Dimitri said, ignoring Lilith, "Such deception and thievery. From you I had expected better." He shook his head like a parent scolding their child. Morrigan just scoffed.  
"All is fair in love and war, Lord Maximoff."  
"Besides, finder's keepers!" Q. Bee added in. "You want it, you gotta fight for it!"  
"I've no desire to waste my time or energy squashing the few of you" Dimitri said, "I merely off you all warnings: leave that book to me, or you shall most certainly suffer for it." With that, Dimitri wrapped his cloak back about himself, and vanished into the shadows of the night.  
"Jerk." Lilith muttered, and turned to address her sister, only to find that the larger, more statuesque vampire had vanished with Dimitri. Lilith looked at Q. Bee, who returned her confused expression. "You know..." Lilith said, holding her arms open as if to show there was no danger to the insectoid darkstalker, "Maybe you and I can work something out..."

The woman huffed and wiped some sweat from her forehead with one fuzzy hand. Her tail flicked with annoyance, and she looked around at all the other crates that still had to be loaded onto the train. She sighed and leaned against one, muttering to herself.  
"Who would have thought that catnip would run out so fast?" she sighed and crouched down, ready to hoist the crate she was struggling with again.  
"Need a hand?" a masculine voice said, and the crate was lifted away from her. She looked up, and smiled into the eyes that looked down at her. She stood up and moved closer to the man.  
"Thanks John." She leaned in and planted a kiss on his cheek. He smiled at her, and she touched her face to his, a soft purr rising from her throat. "I'm glad you decided to come on this tour with me. I couldn't stand to be away from you for so long."  
"Its my pleasure, kitten." He said, calling her by the familiar pet name. She smiled and watched as he carried the crate up the ramp, into the train. Then she looked up at the sky, examining the dark clouds, trying to find the moon. It would not be long before his next transformation.  
"Maybe we can lend a hand." A familiar voice offered. Felicia spun, and was confronted by a group of figures walking out from the shadows toward her. She dropped into a battle ready stance, but her tension vanished as she recognized the people walking to her.  
"Mei-Ling, Hsie-Ko!" she shouted. She ran up to them and threw her arms simultaneously around both of them, nearly barreling them over. They both laughed, and returned the friendly hug. She addressed the next figure. "Donovan, how are you big guy?" Donovan's face remained a mask of passivity, but he nodded his head to her in a friendly fashion. Then she knelt down to look into the eyes of the small girl. "Hi Anita, how are you doing?" The corner's of the girl's mouth turned up slightly. Then Felicia rose, and found herself face to face with an unfamiliar face. "Um...I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure, mister...?"  
"Ash. Just call me Ash." He said, offering her a charming grin and extending his hand. Felicia smiled, and took it, expecting a shake, and was pleasantly surprised when Ash instead bent his head down and planted a small kiss on her paw. She giggled slightly, while Hsien-Ko rolled he eyes.  
"Nice to meet you Ash." She turned back to the two sisters. "What are you guys doing here?"  
"Well, we need your help, Felicia..." Mei-Ling began.  
"Oh, I wish I could you guys..." Felicia said, interrupting, "But I'm in the middle of a tour right now, I don't have time for any adventures."  
"This is bigger than any tour, lady" Ash said, "We're talking heavy duty, end of the world stuff here. Unless you want to be singing to an audience of deadites."  
"What?" Felicia said, her ears lowering slightly in confusion and irritation.  
As if on cue, there was the sound of scrambling along the roof of the train. All heads swung up to see the dark figure leap from the room and land at the end of the platform. It rose to its feet and strode into the light. Felicia gasped when she saw mutilated features that started hungrily at them. "Is...is that..." she said, her eyes the size of dinner plates.  
"Yeah. Here we go again." Ash groaned and yanked his shotgun back from its holster, ready for action.

Well, finally updated true believers! I can't say how sorry I am for taking so long to get back to work on this fic. But, the important thing is, I am now, and will not stop until it is done! I will try to get in a couple of updates a week until completion. Now, I would like to answer a question posted by one kind reviewer. This is for Louis The Rogue: yes, this fic is indeed posted twice. I also put it up under the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness selection in the Movies section here on It is under the title "Book of the Darkstalkers." I had wanted to use the same title twice, but the site would not allow it, so I just used a slightly different one. Hope that clears up any confusion.

Keep reading, true believers!


	7. Chapter 7

With a ravenous roar it charged. Ash took aim, ready to level the deadite with a single blast straight to the head. But as he steadied the gun, Felicia emitted a high pitched hiss, and in an instant the deadite flew backwards and then lay flopping on the ground emitting low gargles.  
"Oh yuuuuck!" Felicia shrieked as she looked with disgust at the blood and flesh on her claws and fur. She looked desperately for something to wipe the mess on, grabbed the first thing she saw and hurriedly rubbed. She stopped when she realized what she was holding, and followed the material up to Donovan, who was giving her a slightly annoyed look. "Heh...sorry." She said and released the cloth, letting it dangle back on its owner.  
"Jeez lady, remind me never to piss you off." Ash said admiringly. Felicia flashed him a charming smile and struck a quick pose. Their attention was drawn by the gurgling growl of the deadite as it rose back to its feet, blood and puss still pumping from the gashes across its face.  
"Swallow your souls!" it snarled, and before the stunned eyes of the gathered band of warriors, its head transformed, the skin pulling tighter across the skull, the eye sockets growling larger and deeper, the teeth shifting unevenly in the jaw, the tongue splitting at the end into a fork. Its neck grew out, nearly six feet long, pulsing like a great serpent. Its growls grew high pitched, like the shrieking of a monkey, and it gazed at them with the balls of puss that were its eyes. "Swallow your souls, swallow your souls!" it repeated in its now crackly voice.  
With a flick of her wrist, Hsien-Ko threw a series of daggers at the creature. Two of them ripped its arms away at the elbows, and three more tore into the giraffe-like neck, decapitating it in an instant. Blood sprayed from the stumps where its forearms and head had been, and the body danced about as if drunk. A quick flash of Donovan's massive sword, and the torso fell away from the hips, and in an instant the remnants of the dismembered creature rotted into nothing.  
Ash stood, his jaw dangling in amazement at the speed with which it had all unfolded. His head snapped too and fro, gazing to the rotting body-parts back to his companions. "Man..." he finally said, a goofy smile working across his face, "You guy's really are groovy!"  
"Groovy!" Felicia purred with delight at hearing this familiar term.  
"Again with that word!" Hsien-Ko said in exasperation. "What does it mean, this 'groovy'?"  
"I'll explain it later." Felicia giggled. "What was that thing?"  
"A deadite" Ash said seriously, "And you're going to be seeing a lot more of them if you don't help us."  
"How many is a lot?" Felicia said quietly, afraid of the answer she would receive.  
And the answer came not in words, but in the roars of a dozen more deadites charging onto the platform. The warriors all dropped into combat-ready positions, prepared to fight. But the battle was interrupted before it even started by the long, dreadful howl. All eyes, including the deadite's, snapped up to see the muscular figure standing atop the train. It lowered its canine head to reveal a pair of glowing read eyes. It leapt off the train, performing a perfect somersault in the air, landing graceful as a ballerina on its feet and glared at the group of deadites.  
They snarled at the werewolf like creature, and it snarled back, just as impressive. The deadites charged, and the wolf-man simply thrust its clawed hands forward, and a massive fireball shaped like a wolf's head flew forward, incinerating the monsters in an instant, their last cries echoing into the night.  
"Whew, thanks John. I was starting to think I'd have to break a sweat there." Felicia said as she strode calmly up the wolf-man. He smiled through his fangs, and wrapped one arm protectively around her, his hand resting on her hip.  
"Uh...is there something I'm missing here?" Ash asked as best he could, considering he could not seem to get his jaw off the ground. Felicia blushed slightly, and the were-wolf chuckled.  
"Oh, how forgetful of us" Mei-Ling said, apologetically, "Ash, this is John Talbain, a...traveling companion of Felicia's." She threw the cat-girl a smirk, and the blush in Felicia's cheeks deepened.  
Talbain strode forward and extended his furred arm to Ash, who gaped at the size and muscularity of that hand for a moment. Then he clasped it with his own, feeling like child shaking the hand of an adult.  
"Man, it's getting so nothing surprises me anymore." Ash muttered as they shook.

"Are you positive this could work?" Q. Bee asked the vampire. Lilith sat on her branch, addressing the insect-darkstalker rather casually, considering the situation. She kicked her legs in the air, as if she had not a care in the world.  
"Of course I'm sure it'll work." She said and with that she hopped off her branch to join Q. Bee on hers. "All we need is a piece of his hair. That's all. Then we'll have someone to get the book for us."  
"And you're sure that they'll listen to it?"  
"Of course they would. After all, it's one of them."

"So that's the whole story." Ash said as he crouched down to pick up the last crate. After hearing of the situation, Felicia had gladly agreed to help them, but insisted that they help finished loading up the train with supplies for the journey. He struggled and groaned to move the heavy box, but with only his one hand available, and his only-human strength, it proved impossible.  
"So you actually went back in time?" Hsien-Ko said as she crouched down on the opposite site of the large box to help.  
"Yeah. Went back in time, fought an army of skeletons, saved a kingdom, nothing big." He raised his head to look across the surface of the box at her, and found himself unable to help but take advantage of the view their position offered him of the impressive contours of her cleavage. "Um...you know, those people asked me to stay and lead them, offered to make me their king." He said, his words coming absently as his attention was focused entirely on the view.  
"I can just imagine how things would have turned out then." Hsien-Ko said, dripping with sarcasm. She raised her head to look at him, but found his gazed was pointed downwards. She lowered her own eyes, saw what he was looking at. Twin spots of ruddy color worked their way against the usual blotches of pink on her cheeks. She hoisted the crate easily, its edge knocking Ash on his chin, the momentum throwing him back onto his butt. "Don't get fresh with me, pal." She said haughtily, and with that she carried the crate into the train all on her own.  
"Wanted to make you king, eh?" another woman's voice interrupted as Ash rose to his feet. He looked up, and found Mei-Ling gazing at him, amused.  
"You betchya" he said as he came up alongside her.  
"So why didn't you take them up on their offer?"  
"Well, I just didn't belong there. I had to get back to my own time, you know? And besides, in some ways, I already am a kind." With that, he bent his knees, bowing his head to her, and he took one of her hands in his own and placed a single kiss onto it. He raised his eyes to see her looking surprised, a light blush rising onto her face as well. "Hail to the king, baby" He said, lowering his voice a few decibels, trying his best to sound sexy.  
"Hey, don't get fresh with my sister either!" Hsien-Ko shouted as she planted her foot firmly onto Ash's behind. He yelped and jumped several feet. He watched as Hsien-Ko prodded her sister onto the train. He smirked, even as he rubbed his sore posterior.  
"No doubt about it. She wants me." He said to himself, and boarded the train.


	8. Chapter 8

"Can you pick up her scent, Felicia?" Mei-Ling asked. Felicia remained with her head stuck out the window for a moment, taking a good, long whiff of the air. She pulled herself back inside and nodded.

"Yeah. She's definitely somewhere north. We're getting closer."

"Got any kings?" Ash asked over his cards.

"Go fish." Talbain muttered. He laid his cards down on the table and rubbed his temples.

"What's the matter? My brilliant strategy wearing you down?" Ash chuckled. The laughs died in his throat when he saw the feral look in the wolf-man's eyes. Ash placed his cards down on the table as well. "Heh, maybe we should pick this game up some other time…"

"Tell us more about the book, Ash." Donovan said, breaking his long silence. "In a battle such as this, knowledge could be a powerful weapon."

Well…" Ash said, running his hand over his unkempt hair, "My friends and I found it a while back in this cabin out in the woods. It was a hideous thing, human blood penned on pages made out of skin."

"Gross." Felicia said, sticking her tongue out in distaste. Ash smiled as he saw his story attracting an audience, with Felicia, Mei-Ling, and Hsien-Ko all moving in a little closer to listen. "This guy named Knowby discovered it in the ruins of ancient Sumeria. He'd been translating the pages, and left his notes in the cabin with it. We started messing around with them, and ended up raising the dead, literally."

"Can it be destroyed?" Talbain growled, growing interested.

"Don't you think I tried?" Ash said, "I tried burning it, tried ripping the pages out, tried everything. Its like its indestructible or something."

"Then how are we supposed to stop all those things it summoned up?" Hsien-Ko demanded.

"If it contained the spell to raise them, it should contain one to send them all back." Mei-Ling said, attempting to calm her sister.

"Yeah, chill baby, chill." Ash said.

"I'm not you're baby!" Hsien-Ko said, obviously growing impatient.

Ash opened his mouth to protest when the sound of a pair of screams pierced the air. A hush fell over the gathered warriors, and a few seconds later there was the screeching sound of the train coming to a halt.

"I really didn't like the sound of that…" Felicia said, moving slowly toward the door, toward the front of the train. Ash and Talbain got up and followed her.

"Jerk…" Hsien-Ko huffed, folding her arms, "Who does he think he is?"

"You're really starting to like him, aren't you?" Anita said, breaking her long silence. Hsien-Ko looked down at her, disbelieving.

"Me? Like him? That creep? You must be joking." She turned her nose up, as if to imply that liking Ash was somehow beneath her. Anita said nothing. Mei-Ling simply smiled.

"Harry? Dan? You guy's okay up there?" Felicia called. She, Ash, and Talbain slowly made their way up the cars toward the front of the train.

"Who you looking for?" Ash asked as he pulled his shotgun.

"The conductors. They come with me on all my tours." Felicia said.

"Hope nothing's wrong." Talbain muttered. As if brought by his words, the lights flickered and died.

"You had to open you're snout." Ash groaned. He turned to address Felicia, and leapt into the air when confronted by the glowing orbs that hovered in the air. He held his shotgun up, ready to fight, when Felicia's voice calmed him.

"Sorry Ash, should have warned you about that." After a moment, Ash made the connection with the sound of Felicia's voice coming from beneath those glowing balls, realizing it was her eyes. But then something else caught his attention.

"Please tell me that's you too." Ash said, pointing ahead of them. Felicia and Talbain both followed the direction of his hand, and saw the multitude of glowing red eyes watching them intently.

But the inevitable answer came when one of the deadites stepped forward, the still bleeding head of one of the conductors jammed onto its hand.

"Sorry kitty" it cackled, working the jaw as if it were a ventriloquist dummy, "You'll have to finish this tour on your own!" It dropped the head and leapt forward, claws flailing.

"What happened to you?" Hsien-Ko gawked when Ash, Felicia, and Talbain stepped back into the caboose. They were all breathing heavily, their eyes bulging nearly from the sockets with horror and panic. Talbain's tongue spilled out the side of his mouth as he panted.

"A little problem at the front of the train. I'd rather not discuss it. In fact, let's not go there again." Ash said as he pressed his back against the door.

"We're going to have to, Ash." Felicia said regretfully.

"What?" Ash gasped.

"The only way to get the train moving is from the front control room. We'll have to go up there to it."

"Why must there always be a problem?" Ash groaned.

"It gets worse…" Mei-Ling said from the window.

"How can it get any worse?" Talbain growled. Mei-Ling grabbed Ash and the wolf-man and shoved them both in front of the window. They leaned out, and saw the swarm of deadites climbing up the sides of the train, breaking windows, pouring into the cars, searching for victims.

"As if my day needed to get any better…" Ash muttered.

"We'll have to abandon the train." Hsien-Ko said.

"We're not abandoning shit!" Ash said, suddenly seeming to take charge. "We need this thing to find the book, remember?"

"Are you kidding? Did you see all those things? Only a lunatic would try to get through all that!"

"Then you're looking at the world's biggest lunatic." Ash said in a low, determined voice. He then paused a moment, considering what he'd just said, before thrusting it aside. "I'll go." There was a tense silence, and Ash could not help but smile at the new look of respect on the faces of his comrades. Even Hsien-Ko looked at him skeptically, either admiring his courage or damning his ego.

"You can run along the roof…" Felicia finally said, helpfully. "It'll be a lot faster than fighting through all the cars." She jumped up and punched a small panel above their heads, opening the way to the outside of the train. Talbain gave Ash a boost, barking with frustration when his companion stepped on his dog-nose.

Ash stood atop the caboose and looked down the long line of cars toward the engine. It looked like miles.

"Hold on!" Hsien-Ko shouted as she and Talbain leapt out onto the roof with him. All three of them hesitated when they saw all the deadites climbing onto the roof's of the other cars, slowly making their way down toward them.

"We'll clear you a path." Talbain snarled, and with that he threw his hands forward the same way as before, the wolf-head shaped fireball screaming down the train, incinerating dozens of deadites before it died out. At the same time, Hsien-Ko produced her gong, giving it a hard whack, the sonic vibration knocking even more deadites off the train. "That's the best we can do." Talbain said, giving Ash a pat on the shoulder, "Get going, now!"

When they hopped back down into the caboose, Hsien-Ko mulled to herself.

"He really is the world's biggest lunatic…" she said sadly, "but he's a brave lunatic…" Her thoughts were interrupted by the breaking glass and Anita's scream. She looked up to see the decaying hand reaching in.

Ash bolted along the roof's of the cars, jumping over the spaces between them. He made it across three before the deadites started to clamber back up onto the roof after him. He made his way across the fourth one and was about to jump to the fifth when one of them grabbed his ankles, but he freed himself with a simple kick to its chin.

He landed on the fifth with a grunt, and immediately a pair of hands grabbed at his thigh.

"You ever read 'A Farewell to Arms'?" he sneered down at the creature, "Cause I wrote it!" With a single slash of his chainsaw he freed himself from the creatures grasp and continued running, kicking his leg to toss the still grasping hands off. He made his way to the edge of the car when a grinning head, the skin pulled tight over the skull, popped up in front of him. He swung the chainsaw low, and the top of the cranium came off, the blood spilling over the sides like a glass overflowing. A swift boot into its face, and his way was clear. He leapt for the sixth car when another monster leapt up and wrapped its arms around his waist. He landed on his stomach as the writhing creature tried to pull him down into the crevice between the cars, into the eager arms of its brethren.

Ash cursed, clenched his teeth, and reached behind his neck for the trigger of his shotgun. He closed his eyes tight and pulled the trigger, firing a single barrel. The buckshot tore through the leather of the bottom of the holster, ripped along the flesh of his back, and into the creature's head, leaving a gaping hole where one of its eyes had been. It recoiled with a gargle, and Ash rolled over, nearly throwing himself off the edge of the train. He kicked his legs hard, and sent his attacker tumbling off into the night.

Ash moaned in pain as he pulled himself back to his feet and struggled across the roof the final car, now swinging his chainsaw-arm left and right, up and down, too and fro, each swing cutting flesh, ripping bone, blood and puss flying through the air.

Finally he dropped down into the control room at the front of the train to confront two more deadites. They were crouched over the mutilated bodies of the conductors when he entered, but quickly rose to their feet to face him. They both charged him at once, and he sent one of them flying back with a large gash in its chest, the still beating heart clearly visible. The other smashed into him and then slammed back against the wall, grappling with each other. As they fell against the wall, Ash's chainsaw hand broke the glass case of a fire-safety axe hanging against the wall. Ash grunted and placed the barrel of his shotgun right against the monster's abdomen, emptying the second shot into it. It recoiled, a flooding wound in its gut, bile spilling from its stomach. Ash reached with his free hand, grabbed the fire-axe and brought it down in an unstoppable arc. It wedge into the zombie's head, blood gushing now, and it finally collapsed.

The second one was on top of him now, tackling into him, sending him sprawling on the floor. They scrambled against each other in a pile of writhing limps until it had him down, his chainsaw arm pinned against the floor. It stared down into his eyes with the luminous balls of puss in its sockets, its lips curling over the jagged teeth. It slowly lowered its face toward him, considering which morsel to bite into first.

"You…are so ugly…" Ash struggled, "It's a shame to make you even uglier!" He jerked his head up and bit down hard on the deadite's nose and yanked his head back, ripping the appendage away. The zombie recoiled, screeching, and with a few quick swings of a chainsaw, it was finally over.

"All right…" Ash said as he eyed the controls of the train, "Let's see what this baby can do."

"It can't end like this!" Hsien-Ko snarled as punched through the window, sending another of the foul creatures tumbling away.

"I can't believe we never saved mother…" Mei-Ling whispered, her eyes growing glassy with tears of frustration and fear. Talbain and Felicia stood at the opposite wall, also fighting off deadites as they tried to enter through the windows. Donovan stood on the railing on the very back of the train, his massive sword making short work of any creatures that tried to board past him. Anita crouched in the center, clutching her doll to her face tightening as she too began to fear.

"John…" Felicia said as she struggled against the unending assault, "I need to tell you…"

"Its all right, I know" he growled in response, only turning his head to look into her frightened face for a single second. "Me too." He said with a smile. She took great comfort in this, and steadied herself for the end.

But then the loud scream of the train-whistle pierced the hopelessness. The floor beneath them gave a great jerk, and slowly the train started forward, increasing with each passing moment. Some of the deadites howled as they were ground under the metal-wheels, others were thrown away by the sheer force of movement.

"Yeeeaaah baby!" Ash shouted from the control room as the train picked up speed. In the caboose, the combatants all stood silent, almost unbelieving.

"Did he actually…" Hsien-Ko whispered as she stuck her head out one of the windows. Ash was leaning out the window of the control room, and he gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. "He did it!" She shouted, giving the final confirmation to her relieved companions. "He really did it!" Felicia gave a loud purr of delight, Mei-Ling clapped her hands together, and even Anita managed a smile.

Back at the front of the train, Ash smiled as the wind whipped against his face, all the panic that had previously been seizing him vanishing with each instant, and each deadite that was crushed under the weight of the train. But this was all broken when a sudden jolt of pain shot from the back of his head.

"Ow!" He shouted and clapped his hand on his scalp. He looked up and saw none other than Lilith Aensland hovering in the air. She held up a hand, clenching a small sample of his own hair between her fingers and waved at him.

"Thanks, I'm sure I can find a use for this!" she giggled and vanished. Ash was left, confused and bewildered.

When he stepped into the caboose, Hsien-Ko immediately threw her arms around him, hoisted him in the air and spun around the room with him. Felicia, Talbain, Donovan, and Mei-Ling all laughed as they watched Ash struggle against her crushing grip.

"I don't know how you did it, but thank you!" She said when she placed him back on the floor. He flashed her a charming smile, and for a moment she actually felt her heart flutter at the sight of those eyes…

"Ahem." Felicia said, and the two immediately looked away from each other in embarrassment. Talbain stepped forward and clapped Ash on the back.

"Not bad, man." He congratulated.

"Indeed, you did very well." Donovan said with a nod of his head. Ash smiled and gave a small salute with the barrel of his shotgun.

"Hail to the king, baby." He said, and they all laughed.


End file.
